Ending Together
by preceptormyth101
Summary: So you want to know what happened next after we defeated Nergal? We had a bloody party! Yet, there is someone still on my mind. A goddess...a woman, Lyndis. I wish...I want her to know how much I love her. But, I can't. We were so different. She was a princess, and I had my glasses. But I'll try. I'll bloody try.


**Hey preceptormyth101 here. So after playing some Fire Emblem, I thought doing a Fire Emblem fanfic would be cool, though it's only a one-shot. But this should be interesting for this is my frist time writing in such a manner. Anyway, hope no one finds my language offensive. It's only just a bit of fun. Anyway hope you enjoy this first ever one-shot of mine and on to the show! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fire Emblem, or an Emblem, or a Fire, or just anything that relates to it ok? **

Ending Together.

Is it odd to hear the people cheer and scream and roar for random strangers? To hear them call and yell their names as if they were the gods themselves strutting before them. Maybe it was the glasses. Ladies loved the glasses.

No...I will not fool myself. It must have been Eliwood or Hector whom rode in the front, waving and smiling to every passing dirty peasant and obtuse pleb. They did look kingly with the smelly armor and sweaty horses. Scratched, bruised, oh, and Hector had a black eye. Kingly indeed. Oh, there was Merlinus the Cheery Merchant as well, but he was so overwhelmed in front of such a large crowd that I had almost forgotten about him.

Or maybe it was the knights: old Marcus the Knight of Pherae, green-haired Lowen the Swift Knight, faithful Oswin the Impregnable Knight, stiff Kent the Crimson Shield, womanizer Sain the Green Lance, blue-haired Isadora Escort of Pherae, bald Wallace Crag of Caelin, suicidal Harken the Troubled Warrior. They trailed after the two 'kings', waving, well in all fairness Sain was blowing kissing to the pretty girls in the crowd. Battered, bruised, and bandaged, they were the prime example of the grand crusaders who came back home after crushing the everyday evil monster that threatened to destroy the world, after lunch of course.

No...no. It had to be the ones walking after them, after all we can't all have something to ride on horses though Wallace and Oswin were both big enough not to ride. It wouldn't be fashionable anymore.

The mages. Always the mages. If I had a cloak and a book and a stupid wand and a...well it's only an if! There was of course silver-haired Pent the Mage General, loud-mouth Serra the Outspoken Cleric, humorless Erk the Studious Mage, the boy Lucius the Light (damn, I thought he was a girl), polite Priscilla the Secluded Princess, knowledgeable Canas the Seeker of Wisdom, the girl Nino the Pious Mage, and, even more humorless, Renault the Burdened Bishop. They looked nice in their flowing robes and carrying their magic wands that makes butterflies and daffodils.

...Nah. They looked haughty and so arrogant. Oh look at me I can do magic! I can make this chair move with my mind! Wavy wand, wavy! I can kill a monster with a book!.. actually the last one is kinda' useful.

Now the next ones were maybe being applauded. The flyers. Pegasus and Wyverns were **so** fashionable these days. Riding a horse? So last ten millenniums ago. Try a flying shit-dropper with wings. Luckily they, striking Heath the Wandering Knight, shy Florina the Pegasus Knight, Fiora the Wing-borne Warrior, profiteering Farina the Great Wing, and haughty Vaida the Flying Fang; all had their mounts beside them. Thank the gods or else there might've been poop flying everywhere. Shit bombs, a biological weapon to be feared.

Probably the crowd didn't even notice the poop-flyers except for the stench of their droppings. Besides, who cares if you can fly? I can fly! I just need a catapult and a lever and...I never said I would survive, alright.

How about the archers and thieves? I'm sure people love flying darts coming at their faces. Besides, who didn't want to be an archer? Away from the action, killing from afar, getting trampled by cavalry, no cover against other archers...this isn't sounding very nice. And then the thieves! Who wouldn't want to be a thief? Having to run around in the cold, damp night with nothing but a thin cloak and having to rob places with only a dinner knife? Cheery Wil the Archer Without Equal, silent Rath the Wolf of Sacae, sweet Rebecca A Wildflower, majestic Louise the Lady of Violets-archers whom were followed by the thieves: sneaky Matthew the Thief and Spy and crafty Legault the Hurricane.

Please, who'd give them credit? Besides, Rebecca shot me once in the butt. Took me a week to heal and another to regain my ability to sit. Also, Legault also owes me money still.

How about the warriors? Oh yes, the brawny, thick, hairy warriors. I could throw an axe (wait, wait falling over!) and wear almost nothing to show off my hot body. Don't give me that look! I have a one-pack! Anyway, there was caring Dorcas the Serene Warrior, rash Bartre the Wild Axefighter, tan Hawkeye the Desert Guardian, and tough Geitz the Wanderer all sauntering down with their giant muscles. I wondered what they looked like as babies? Did they start lifting twenty pound rocks right away or knocking over trees with their fat skulls? Both at once probably.

Yet, they were dirty, grungy, and I think Bartre farted just now. Yeah, he did, for one of the horses nearby died. Great, now no one can eat it. It was toxic now. So it couldn't be them the crowd cheered for.

Then came the beloved mercenaries and sell-swords. Everyone wanted to a mercenary as a pet! Three meals a day and a woman to rape every other day was a bargain! Last year, it had been two women. Though I liked ambitious Guy the Mounted Swordsman, unfriendly Raven the Sublime Mercenary, the great Karel the Sword Saint, 'softy' Jaffar the Angel of Death, hot Karla the Sword Vassal. I especially liked Karla and Jaffar. They like me as well! Really! Karla hasn't took a swing at me in days and Jaffar hasn't put a knife to my throat in over three weeks! Yesterday didn't count. I just stumbled on him when he was taking a shit, that was all. There was nothing going on!

I'm starting to have doubts of the crowd's applause since Jaffar just gave someone a death glare. Nah, the crowd found them too ordinary. I mean people using swords? Boring~!

Now the next two were much more interesting. A dancer and a bard even! Great all we need is a couple of elephants, and we would be a carnival! Eliwood's Wonder Emporium. Don't feed the mercenaries, they bite. Anyhow, protective Nils and beautiful Ninian the Children of Destiny both came behind the sell-swords and fighters. I have to give them credit, they survived Batre's fart attack.

Teal hair? Really something so normal is so boring. We have red, blonde, purple, even green haired people! How about black? I haven't seen black hair in a long time. Also, the twins were dragons so kudos for them. Back to hair, I've also seen turquoise, and, damn, she looked heavenly. As if the mountains and trees and rivers would part ways so that they may have a glimpse of her walking by them, or the sun would set slowly to burn each image of her lithe form into its mind.

Lady Lyndis the Noblewoman of Sacae came after the twins. If there was a goddess on earth, it was her. Strong, gentle, and attractive, it would be hard for any man to say no to her. N-! Damn it, I couldn't. Although a bit of a tomboy, she was as majestic as the goddess of war on her horse, taking the rear of the precession, her scars and wounds only heightening her beauty. I think if there weren't so many people in the crowd, many of them would have bowed, unable to contain the awe they felt for her.

Yet, they did not applaud for her. They applauded for **them**, The Heroes of Elibe. The men and women who fought against monsters and a reborn evil. The conquering heroes who brought peace back to the land. They did deserve it.

So where was I in all this? Behind Lyndis. No farther back, behind the crowd. Behind the soldiers. There I was! On the pony following them! Didn't I look great! Disheveled hair with equally disheveled clothes and a book at my side. I even wore glasses. They were fake, alright, though ladies still loved them. After watching the heroes for about ten minutes, I got bored and went to the half-filled tavern.

I was sitting by myself in the dark corner, leaning back and nursing a cup of wine. I hated ale. It wasn't elegant enough. Anyway, I was just watching a nearby dice game going on with a couple of off-duty soldiers.

One busty barmaid, who I was eyeing to have some fun with tonight, sauntered over and asked, "Can I refill your cup, darlin'?"

The glasses gets all of them. Raising my cup, I gave her my best smile and winked at her causing her to giggle hysterically. I didn't get the joke. I never did. Though she was amused enough to refill my cup and even more amused as I tipped her.

"Didja hear about the Heros of Eliba'?" the barmaid asked, seeing that I was, of course, an educated man.

I smiled. "Who doesn't bloody know? Bloody conquerors and bloody legends back from the field of victory! To the Heroes of Elibe!" I shouted the last sentence and the all the patrons in the tavern roared and lifted their mugs in reply. I liked the word 'bloody'. I didn't know what it meant, besides the obvious, but it sure was bloody fun saying it. "So do you want to keep me bloody company tonight?"

For a second, she stood there and then laughed as if I had cracked the best bloody joke. Patting my back, she kept laughing and walked to another soldier who needed his cup refilled.

Shrugging at her loss, I leaned back and drank from the cup, wincing as the cool red liquid splashed my tongue. It was bloody horrible. But thankfully, I was already eyeing another nice looking barmaid, so I didn't mind the taste.

"She's very pretty isn't she." Upon hearing the voice, I spat out the wine in shock and slammed my head against the very hard wall. My head throbbed while I gasped for breath. "Though I always thought you liked skinnier girls."

Rubbing the back of my throbbing head, I looked toward the voice. It was Lyndis. I could bloody feel the heat rise to my cheeks. "L-L-L-Lydnis! H-h-hey Lydnis! Uh, hi Lydnis! Uh, w-what are you doing here?" Bloody hell. Why did I stutter in front of her of all people!

"Looking for a friend," she replied, sitting down next to me, staring. She smiled like the grassy plains and the fresh soil. I shivered as her eyes met mine. Damn it, Mark, get a hold of your- bloody-self. "I had thought he would have been riding next to me."

I laughed uneasily. "I was just-...my horse, it broke an arm! Yeah that's it!"

One of her gorgeous eyebrows rose in amusement. "His arm?" she asked lightly, her breath tickling my skin.

I couldn't even think. My concentration was completely gone and uncontrolled words just spilled out of my blood mouth. "Yeah, you know his arm! To thing that moves back and forth! He also broken his calf trying to walk on two legs and..."

I slowly stopped, understanding that all I was saying was complete gibberish. Lydnis politely had held her mirth before, but now she laughed heartily, clutching her stomach trying to stop. Her laughter was like the soft twinkling of bells. Although embarrassed, I grinned.

"I-I'm so sorry, Mark. I-I didn't mean to laugh!" Yet laugh she did, and I all could do was bloody wait and try to not look to embarrassed as the rest of the patrons in the tavern ogled her. They knew who she was. Lydnis the Noble, Lydnis the Brave, Lydnis the Beautiful, and well you get the rest. I prefer Lydnis the Girl with Firm Tits that I Would Like to Grope, but it just isn't as catchy as the others. Oh bloody hell, I feel embarrassed at just thinking that. Lydnis was a great woman. A woman that only came once in a thousand years. I was just happy basking in her presence.

"Thanks, I'm sure my ego _feels_ so much better now." I rolled my eyes causing Lydnis to slap me across the back. Bloody hell, she had a strong arm!

"Come on," she said as she grabbed my hand. My bloody cheeks were bloody on fire. I tried to bloody hide them with my cloak, but she just kept pulling my arm. Bloody, bloody, bloody! "We have to meet the others."

"U-uh Lydnis, you're...you're." Stop bloody blubbering! Remember, Mark, the glasses! Girls always fall for the glasses. Use it!

"Holding your hand? Yes, I thought you would enjoy it," Lydnis nonchalantly replied, smiling. That bloody goddess was laughing at me! She was bloody smiling at me! She...she had a very nice smile. "Let's go already."

Bloody myself. I won't lie. My name is...well that isn't important, and I bloody fell for the best bloody woman on the bloody continent. I was bloody enthralled and bloody captivated by her. She was a goddess. And I was a bloody fool for loving her. Also, I liked to say bloody.

-Smooth Transition-

"My friends, you and I, all of us, have gone through the worst any man or woman could live through. We have lost and loved. Sacrificed and taken. Bled and lived. We have knocked on the doors of hell and came back! United as one, we have survived and saved Elibe. I salute every last one of you. I thank you all from the bottom of my hearts, from all the hearts of Elibe, for saving our land. To us! To Elibe!" Eliwood raised his glass to toast.

"To Elibe," his friends toasted. We were all scattered around the bright hall, lit by golden chandeliers and surrounded by see-through windows with colorful patterns, since there was no main table, and food benches on the side of the hall. The two lords and one lady were standing on a slightly elevated platform, separated from the ground by a couple of stairs, with banners behind them.

Patterned floor, tall ceiling, royal food, lavish clothing...now where's my strippers? None? Bloody damn bloody, I clearly told Eliwood to bring some strippers. I even made a map for him to help find them! I knew nobles didn't know how to throw a decent bloody party. Where were my strippers!

Besides a lack of strippers, there was a, also, lack of pompous fat nobles, besides our friends of course. This was an exclusive Heroes' of Elibe party. Strippers allowed.

Anyway, it really wasn't much of a party, more like an awkward gathering. More than half the people in the hall were commoners and the rest were nobles. Two sides of the same world. And then there was me.

Me? My name was Mark...no, it was I called myself. But my true title was Marquis Marcus, some unknown bastard of some unknown Lord of Nowhere. Born half commoner and half noble, I was an outcast in both societies, well except...ok, maybe not an _outcast_ but I sure wasn't welcome to any weddings. Even my own! I was going to marry this really nice girl, you know, the usual package. Pretty face, nice wide hips, great tits, her personality was not that bad, but the parents found out who I really was on the day of the wedding, and they threw me out.

After that? Well...since I obviously was well accommodated with extravagant items such as a shirt, pants and patched cloak, I...well, it's not something I want to talk about.

In other news, silence ensued the room. I couldn't blame them. No strippers, no fine wenches, or dancers, well besides Ninian but she was taken, and I like having a stomach without Eliwood's rapier going through it. This was a dead party.

Well, it was dead until some maid slapped Sain across the face with her metal platter, knocking him to his butt with a incredulous, shocked expression stuck to his face.

"I like her," Matthew muttered next to me. "She has some spunk."

"And what do I have?" Serra asked Matthew loudly, attracting much attention.

"I was hoping a muzzle," Matthew said under his breath, thinking Serra hadn't heard him. Unfortunately for Matthew's and my bloody ears, she did.

"I'll have you know, I-"

Bloody hell, these two! Get a damn room already and stay in there for gods' sake! Bloody it all!

As the two of them worked out their 'discussion' which mostly included pleasant shouting and occasional well-known screaming, I decided to bloody bugger out. Heh, bugger. Funny...bugger. Anyway, I 'buggered' on over to Karla, giving her the 'eye' all the time.

"Mark," Karla greeted, staring out into the dark sky filled with glittering spots of light dotting the dark abyss we call the sky. Boring...With a casual glance to my sides, I slowly slipped an arm around her lean waist causing her to look at me, her eyebrow risen. "Bold and very reckless."

I smiled. "I thought you liked bold." Ha! Eat bloody that!

"True, but," Karla said, expertly slipping away from my grasp, "I like skilled even better."

Bloody harsh. Yet, I was used to her cool treatment, and this time I was ready to make my move, "How is this for bloody skilled?" I grabbed her right hand with my left and used my right to circle around her waist. Surprisingly, she didn't try to blood chop my bloody head off. Instead, to my buggered out shock, she moved to the center of the room, all eyes on us.

Stopping and leaning her head close to mine, she coolly asked, "Are you ready?" Her eyes glinted with a sort of passion. Got to love passion.

Shivering at her gaze, I gave her my best smile. "Born ready." Bloody told you, girls love the glasses.

-Smooth Transition-

Lydnis watched as Mark and Karla started to dance, gracefully circling in the center. Their feet were in a blur of motion while the two of them seemed to glide across the floor.

"I didn't know Mark was such a good dancer," Eliwood commented as he watched other couples starting to join. The first were Pent and Louise and surprisingly Heath and Vaida. Poor Heath, he looked like someone was about to throw him into one of wyverns' mouth. Some other couples went in and out but most did not have the skill to keep up with the three couples.

"He is...quite...skilled," Ninian said haltingly, still shy in front of all of them even after all they'd been through.

"You hear that, Eliwood? Mark just might take your fiancée right from under your nose!" Hector commented jokingly.

"Ssshhh, Hector!" Eliwood hastily said causing Hector to berate himself silently, but the damage was done.

"Fiancée?" Ninian burst out loudly. Blushing, she quickly put her hands over her mouth, embarrassed due to her sudden outburst. The music and dancing paused for a moment as people turned toward the lords, hearing the sudden declaration.

"Well, that's bloody great! So who's getting married?" Mark shouted across the dance floor, still holding onto Karla.

Giving Hector a glare, Eliwood gently wrapped his warm fingers around Ninian's soft hand and turned to face the crowd. "I, Eliwood Marquess of Pherae, son of Lord Elbert, asks the hand of the maiden Ninian for marriage."

Ninian, flustered from embarrassment, blushed hotly and tried to turn away. After a moment of regaining her senses, her cheeks still red, Ninian shyly turned back to Eliwood and quietly, but joyfully replied, "I accept."

Although soft, the noiseless room made her words echo across the room. For a second many were stun, but then Hector began to clap. Then Lyndis. Then Nils. Soon the whole room was erupting with applause while some cheered and yelled in congratulations for the couple.

"Great, now all we need is for me to find a wife, and we'll be a matching set," Hector joked, nudging Eliwood in the ribs as the applause died down. It was amazing how it took only a few events to make a rift between the nobles and peasants, enemies and brothers-in-arms, to suddenly disappear. Laughter, music, and chatting filled the air, making it sound like more of the grand party the three lords had envision.

"I'm sure Lyn would agree to marry such a bulky hunk of metal, wouldn't you, Lyn?" Eliwood responded just as jokingly.

"Oh yes, I really do love cuddling with smelly armor," Lyn replied back sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms under her chest. She glanced at Mark who was still dancing with Karla. "But, I like glasses even more."

"Really?" Hearing Lyndis last muttered sentence, Hector put his arm around Lyndis' shoulders. "And what does he have that I do not?"

Lyndis wrinkled her nose and replied, "A shower."

The twins and Eliwood laughed as Hector looked affronted at her comment. "I'll have you know, I just had a shower last week!"

"Last week? So that was what smelled dead." Although trying to hide their mirth, Eliwood and the twins couldn't stop themselves, and their laughs escaped from their grinning faces. Irritability written across his face, Hector barely held his grin while Lyndis just beamed back at him.

-Smooth Transition-

Bloody hell. There was, *sigh*, Lyndis and, *unsigh*, Hector making gu-gu eyes at one another. It was...oh, bloody. What was I thinking? I had this stupendous chick in my arms and all I could do was think about **her!** Bloody, damn, bloody, bugger!

"Is there anything wrong, Mark?" Ms. Hotty asked, noticing one of my damned missteps due to seeing the two bloody lords together.

"No, no...just a little tired, something you might be able to help with," I replied suggestively. I tipped my glasses to my nose for extra effect. Come on, glasses, don't fail me now. I could see her thinking about it, testing me. It would have bloody worked, but then I saw Batre. He was by himself, staring at Karla for who knows what. Then as I tried to concentrate on Karla's face, she kept being replaced by someone else. Bloody hell. I couldn't do it.

"Maybe-"

"Hold that thought, deary." Yelling at myself inside my head, I stopped the dance and trudged Karla with me toward that lone bugger. Bloody, damn him and her! Damn bloody, damn, bloody bugger! "Bartre!" I called.

With great reluctance, Bartre came over staring at me, specifically avoiding the gaze of Karla. I had heard they liked to fight one another, but I knew Batre, although brash and crude, was a very bloody shy guy sometimes when it came to love. Bloody him, I couldn't stand watching him make those dog eyes! "Oho, back so soon?" Bartre barked out, laughing as if he had said something extremely funny.

"Yeah, I need to bugger out for a bit. Do you mind keeping Karla company for awhile?" What was I doing? I was so close and...bloody damn it! Gods, I could of had a bombshell tonight, but noooooooo, I was just damn too nice sometimes. It was the glasses wasn't it? I knew the shopkeeper was lying when he said I would get women, riches, and a fat cow. Damn him.

Bartre seemed to be at a loss for words once as he locked gazes with Karla who was equally quiet.

"Good," I said, "at least I don't have to deal with Karel." I slipped away from the two of them, giving them so much needed alone time. Hope Bartre doesn't fart.

After that blood adventure, I wanted to go and find some other bombshell to corner to help ease my mind, but all of the buggers were being entertained by other buggers. Bugger!

Then there was Lyndis. The Lyndis. The goddess on earth, the-, haven't I been through this already? Anyway, instead of making a bloody, bigger fool of myself, I went outside, trying to get some fresh air and also to avoid seeing Big, Bulk, and Muscular putting his hands all over my goddess. No, not my goddess. She could never be mine. Our ranks were just too different. She was a goddess, and, well, I had my glasses.

So I went to clear my head on the balcony that had a great view of the crescent moon and the reflection of it on the lake. The stars seemed to be so much closer tonight as if I could reach out and pluck one from the sky. Yet no matter how magnificent, they paled in comparison with Lyn. I was a bloody fool, dreaming about her. She couldn't be mine, especially, with all those roving fans begging for her. Some bloody, random, empty-headed, tall, dark and handsome will someday ride in on his sweating steed, and he will pluck her from my gaze and ride into the night, taking her away from my life. She was made for bigger things. Not me.

"Watch out," Jaffar said next to me, leaning against the stone railing.

Bloody what does he-...damn, bird poop. Checking to see if any was looking, I wiped the blood bird shit off of my shoes and onto the railing. "Stunning isn't it."

Jaffar did not reply.

"Yeah," I continued, "it looks cool."

Jaffar sill did not reply.

"Hey, Jaffar we're friends right?"

"No."

"Good, so as friends I can tell you stuff and you won't bloody say anything, right?"

"No." Eh, he didn't mean it. Besides, he would be bored if I wasn't around bloody chatting with him to death.

"So I really like this girl, a bloody goddess really, but she is too high in stat-...I mean looks. She always surrounded by some handsome buggers, bigger, stronger, and dumber than I. I just...bugger it, I don't have a bloody chance."

Again the silent treatment.

"Really? You think so?"

No answer.

"Thanks, Jaffar, you're a real pal." He bloody was.

-Smooth Transition-

Lyndis walked across the dance floor, trying to find Mark. She had seen him dancing with Karla only a couple of minutes ago, and she had expected him to either be dancing still or going after another woman.

Why was she looking for him? Well...truthfully she didn't know herself. Isadora had came to her and slowly explained that Mark may **perhaps** have something important to tell her, and, **perhaps,** it was something Lyn wanted to hear.

Undoubtedly, Mark had been avoiding her for almost the entire day. Something about being 'bloody buggered', whatever that means. He hadn't been like this before their battle with Nergal though he had shown some signs. Was it something she had said? Maybe, he was still upset about the tavern incident today. She hadn't meant to laugh at him.

Smiling to Florina and her two sisters, Lyn barely saw Mark, on the balcony next to Jaffar, from the corner of her eye.

Why was she even going to him? He was a friend. A good friend. Yet, why did she keep feeling different around him. She felt the same happiness and joy when she was with him as when she was around others. Yet, there was something unexplainable that pulled her back to him.

She didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't some infatuation like one has with a noble knight. It wasn't jealously, though seeing Mark and Karla together did clench her heart slightly. It wasn't a fiery passion that consumed young couples. What was it?

Every time she was next to him, she felt a certain warmth flow through her body, delicately pulsing through her veins. Her thoughts always seem to focus on him. Her eyes would lock themselves with his. She didn't understand. What was happening to her?

She tried asking Canas for an explanation, but even he was at a lost, giving her the vague answer of "not everything can be taught". She tried to make herself feel the same way with other men. However, to her, Eliwood was Eliwood, Hector was Hector, Rath was Rath, and Kent was Kent. She felt the same friendship she had before. But Mark...he was different. Even when she had first met him on the grassy plains that triggered this whole journey, she had felt he was different.

She had explained her predicament to Ninian hoping, as dragonkin, Ninian would have some lost knowledge hidden within her. Yet, to Lyndis' surprise, Ninian told her with a simple giggle that she, Lyn, was in love with Mark.

Love. She didn't believe it. She couldn't. Love had to go both ways in order to be successful. Yet, Mark had done all he could to avoid her-flirting with women, going into back alleys, and hiding himself in taverns. Was it really worth taking away his freedom, so she could selfishly have him as her own?

Own? She had not meant to say...no, she meant it. She wanted Mark. She wanted him to be beside her. To love her, to hold her, to dance with her. Dancing. She wanted so badly to dance with him.

Was this love? This selfish, egoistic, self-pleasuring feeling that would bind Mark to her?

Yet, how could he love her? She was a murderer. She had killed scores, even hundreds of men though some bandits were rightfully killed. She had taken away fathers, sons, daughters, and mothers away from their families with a single stroke of her sword, a simple command from her lips, a simple breath that gave her life to kill. She had killed so many. Who would want her? Who would want a murderer?

So deep in her own thoughts, Lyn did notice her own body moving toward Mark until the very moment he turned around to face her on top of the balcony.

-Smooth Transition-

"Jaffar, what color do you like better-pink or red?" Bloody, we'd be sitting here in silence for five minutes, and I was buggered out of decent conversation topics. Next thing you'll know, I'll be playing the Silent Game. Jaffar almost always won. I won once but that was because I flashed him. It wasn't that bad!

"Pink, believe it or not."

"Pink?" What the bloody buggered of the...oh, gods! I had turned to my left, thinking to see Jaffar still leaning against the railing; but, instead, there was my goddess, staring at the bright full moon.

"Yes, pink. I may be a tomboy but that doesn't mean I can't be like normal girls sometimes," Lyndis replied, turning her gaze toward me.

"Bloody hell," I muttered to myself. I turned to my right, trying my hardest to ignore her sweet scent that tickled my nose. Bloody, bloody, bloody! What was she doing here! Damn it, Jaffar! Some friend you were!

"Mark," I felt a tingle go through my spine as she said my name. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"Avoiding? Who's been avoiding? I never avoided or avoid or void or just aoid or..." Oh bloody, what was I saying? Hello folks, meet Mark the Butt Face since all he can do was **fart** out random words.

Lyn, grabbing me by my shoulder, turned me around, her passion-filled eyes locked with mine. I tried to bloody look away, but, like I said, she was goddess that had enthralled me with a mystic incantation. Wait...I didn't say that. "We've used to be such good friends, Mark. I could talk to you beneath the moon, practice my swordsmanship with you." I rolled my eyes at the that one. More like she poked and I was the bag of meat that was bleeding all over the place. "We would go out into the fields and talk about what we'd do after the war. Me, taking over my grandfather's castle, while you would go to study more tactics. We would spend time together, but now you avoid me like I was some sort of plague."

I hastily chuckled, trying to reassure her that her last words were just a joke to me. "Come on L-L-Lyn." Smooth, Mark, very, bloody smooth. "It's to be expected since our group has grown so much larger. And you being a great Amazon while I'm just the guy in the back with the glasses watching as you murder through the battle-" Alright, what I just said made my earlier blubbering seem like smooth glass.

She was tearing up, trying to hide it by looking away. "Is that what you think of me, Mark? Am I really a murderer?"

Oh gods, I couldn't handle women who cried. Don't cry, please Lyn, don't cry. Or I'll start crying and no one wants that. "Never, Lyn. It's just...it's."

Now she was crying. I could see a couple of tears running down her soft cheeks. "It's because I am so disgusting. I took hundreds of lives just to save my own friends. I've destroyed hundreds of families by killing their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters or children. I am responsible for the children suffering in the streets, for the maimed soldiers that have to beg for their daily bread, for the woman that has to whore her way to get through life and feed her children. I became just like Nergal."

For once, I found myself at a loss for words and thank bloody gods for that. Yet, I wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault, tell her that everything would be fine, tell her that I would be there to support her through this trial. But I couldn't. The words were stuck within my bloody throat.

Forcing myself to do something, anything, I circled my arm around her shoulder and looked up to the night sky. Although I hadn't seen it at first, the stars were beautiful tonight. "Lyn," I said, the words finally spilling out of my mouth, "there was once a warrior who killed fifteen hundred people. He killed and he killed, slaying men, women and children. After years of killing, he caught a disease, making him take to his bed. After being given his last rites, the man asked for his brother to come and to have the two of them speak one last time. The brother, who'd been disgusted by his own brother due to the butchering of woman and children, asked savagely if he had any regrets in killing so many innocents. Do you know what the warrior said?" I waited for Lyn to ask; but, instead, she shook her head, her tears halting for a moment. "With a weak chuckle, the warrior replied, 'I have done so to preserve my home. While I have killed fifteen hundred, I have saved fifteen thousand. I have killed so many to make our war shorter and shorter so that no one may do the things I must do.' After that, the brother kissed him on the forehead and held his brother's hand until it grew cold." I squeezed her, trying to warm her with my body. If she hadn't been crying, this would've been heaven to me. To hold her and to feel her warmth warm my body as mine warmed hers.

"You can't blame yourself, Lyn. You can't blame yourself for doing something that had to be done. You can't blame yourself for saving so many more lives than you have taken."

Lyn slowly wiped her tears away with the back of her head, her eyes red. "Thank you, Mark. I am feeling much better now." Although she made it sound as a dismissal, she, from under my cloak, put her arm around my waist, binding us together even tighter. "Tell me, what happened to the brother?"

I smiled. "He roamed the world, trying to help those in need. Helping the weak fight against the strong. Helping the ones who lost hope to find hope. Now, he is with his loved one, hoping that someday she will notice him."

"You make it sound like a tragic play," Lyn said as she sniffed, the last of her tears drying up.

"It was. It was." It bloody was.

Turning to her beautiful face to me, Lyn asked, "So did the brother ever get noticed?"

"That part of the story isn't known yet." But it was probably a no. Who would notice him, a simple glasses-wearing man?

"Maybe it is," she responded, her voice music to my bloody ears. How I wished that we could stand here forever, holding one another. I saw the moon, and I could not help but feel how it paled in comparison to the glowing goddess next to me.

"Really?" I asked, turning my head. I almost jumped back since her face was only inches away from mine. I could feel her warm breath and the heart radiating from her smooth skin.

"Really."

Before I could ask her how she knew, she moved her head forward and kissed me, her warm, moist lips parting mine. Her lips were so soft as if made of clouds, but was so warm that it reminded me of a woman's embrace.

I wasn't a virgin to kissing, but what she did was entirely knew. It wasn't the rough and clumsy slopping around I was used to. It was a gentle, sweet dancing of lips. I could feel my toes curling slightly.

After a few seconds, I could feel her starting to back away. Yet, my lips sought hers as we parted, the sudden cold chilling me. She stared at me, hurt.

"I'm sorry, Mark. I did not mean to...Especially since you and Karla-"

Oh shut up. Over my shock, I kissed her. Kissing her was different. Kissing her was like kissing everything I loved and cared for. Wait...that was her. She was everything I desired, everything I wanted. Kissing her was a moment of triumph and of happiness and of joy. Kissing her was all I ever wanted and dreamed of.

Yet, breathing was a bitch. After two minutes, we came up for air, both of us panting, our breath showing the coldness of the night.

"I love you, Lyndis." Whoa...how did? Why did? When did? Jeez, if only I could sound so bloody sexy all the time.

"And I love you, Mark."

"I love you all too as friends, of course." What the hell? Lyndis and I turned around and what we saw cause us to both go red in embarrassment.

There was the bloody whole group, the Heroes Elibe, watching us. Some, even Karla, were grinning especially the bugger, Sain, who had called the out to the two of us.

"How the-?" I was at a loss for words. Who the hell called them...bloody Jaffar. I glared at the Angel of Death among the group who for once had a smirk on his face.

Lyn, first to recover, held me even tighter. "So are we going back inside or what?"

A few minutes later, Lyn and I were dancing. Eliwood and Ninian were as well while Hector was having a hard time dancing with Florina who was swooning left and right in embarrassment.

She was like a feather in my arms and her smile never left her face as we danced. Bloody kill me now, for my life was complete.

My name is Marcus the Lord of Who-Knows-What. The son of some random guy and some random woman. The man who led the Heroes of Elibe to victory. The tactician whose brother now rested in peace. The lover of Lyndis the Goddess of the Elibe. And a bloody fool.

-Smooth Transition-

Eliwood and Ninian.

Eliwood the Lord of Pherae married Ninian the Child Destiny. I cried at their wedding. Ninian, giving up her long life, lived with Eliwood, advising him in all matters of court. They had a son named Roy who would become a great hero. To this day, people remember them as the Lovers of Pherae for no man nor dragon could ever deny their unshakeable love. For years, Pherae prospered under their rule and there was peace in the land.

Hector and Florina.

Convincing Florina to come back to Ostia with him, Hector the General of Ostia married Florina the Winged Champion. I cried at their wedding too. Hector eventually succeeded his brother and become the Lord of Ostia. Timid Florina won the hearts of the people as Hector created a grand army that kept peace throughout Elibe. They later had many children many of whom became great legends. Hector and Florina become known as the Protectors of Elibe, for the legend goes that when Elibe is in its darkest hour the two heroes will rise and vanquish the evil from the land.

Mark and Lyndis.

Mark the Grand Tactician married Lyndis the Goddess of Elibe. Hector and Eliwood cried at my wedding. Although disputed at first, Mark was able to take the throne of Sacae due to his noble birth. Lyndis reorganized the tribes of Sacae to have a standing voice among the newly created Council of Caelin. Mark and Lyn had many children who all became great warriors and tacticians. Mark opened up the School of Gifts to help train others in the art of war. Together, the two of them lived together and molded a great land, their love enduring any trial they faced. Together, their story now comes to an end.

The End.

**Hey preceptormyth101 here! So I hope you guys enjoyed the one-shot since this is my first time making one. I'll have to admit, it was kinda' fun. Anyway hoped you enjoy it and all that good stuff. Also, I created this because I love Lyndis and I love being Mark so I thought they go well together. Sorry if I got some of the characters attitudes wrong but to be honest, it's hard getting them down. Anyway have a good day and hope you enjoy. This is preceptormyth101 signing out! R&R!**


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